1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic paper reading device, an electronic paper reading system, and an electronic paper reading method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic paper reading device, an electronic paper reading system, and an electronic paper reading method for reading contents, which have been filled out onto electronic paper by hand.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, attention has been paid to electronic paper (also called “digital paper”) as a new recording media. Electronic paper has characteristics such that an arbitrary image (which could be an image of characters) can be recorded thereon, and an image, which has been recorded once thereon, can be rewritten. It is hoped that electronic paper will even replace paper as a recording medium. Paper has characteristics such that, even after an image has been once recorded on the paper, characters or the like can be additionally filled out by hand thereon, by using writing-implements such as pencils or ball-point pens. Accordingly, in order for electronic paper to be used as a medium that replaces paper, the electronic paper must, like paper, enable characters or graphics to be filled out by hand on electronic paper on which an image has already been recorded. Further, the ability to reuse a display or the like of contents, which have been filled out by hand, as an image on the electronic paper, by digitizing the contents, which have been filled out by hand, is desired.
Techniques for digitizing contents, which are filled out on electronic paper by hand, have conventionally been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-112646 discloses an information-processing device which, if an image (including characters) is written/inputted, using an electromagnetic/heat-generating pen, onto electronic paper which is fixed on an electromagnetic inductive digitizer (tablet) digitizes contents which has been written on the electronic paper by the electromagnetic inductive digitizer, associates information, which was obtained by digitization, with ID information for identifying respective documents, and stores the associated information therein.
However, in the technique described in JP-A No. 2000-112646, in order to enable an electronic paper to be filled out by hand and the contents with which the electronic paper is filled out by hand to be digitized, it becomes necessary to use special devices such as the electromagnetic inductive digitizer, and the electromagnetic/heat-generating pen which radiates an electromagnetic wave and generates heat during the filling-out by hand of contents on electronic paper. Further, if electronic paper is filled out by hand, it is also necessary to fix the electronic paper at a predetermined position on the digitizer thus making it inconvenient to use the electronic paper. Moreover, since the electromagnetic/heat-generating pen is a power-consuming device, it must be used while paying constant attention to a remaining amount of a battery in order to prevent writing in-ability due to battery run-down.